


Jared, The April Fool

by Irregular_Psychic



Series: Musical Fanfics [3]
Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson, Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson (Broadway Cast) Actor RPF
Genre: Alana Beck is a Good Friend, F/F, Gen, Jared isn't as bad as he seems, M/M, Miscommunication, Mutual Pining, Zoe Murphy is a Good Friend, evan and jared are idiots, i just love writing idiots dont i?, nobody's over connor's death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-25 08:28:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22033012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Irregular_Psychic/pseuds/Irregular_Psychic
Summary: Evan decides to confess to Jared but he doesn't realize that it's April 1st until it was too late.Alternatively: They're both idiots but they love each other and that's what matters.
Relationships: Alana Beck/Zoe Murphy, Evan Hansen/Jared Kleinman, Jared Kleinman & Zoe Murphy, everyone's friends - Relationship
Series: Musical Fanfics [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1372006
Comments: 1
Kudos: 33





	1. A Flower and a Confession

**Author's Note:**

> The reason why Jared is in the title is cuz I'm making an alternate version of this where Jared confesses to Evan. I wanted to see how characters would react to the same event except their roles are switched. So...yeah. Hope you like this.

A tall, sandy blonde boy paced back and forth in his bedroom, consumed in his own little mind palace. He hadn't realized, but he had started playing with the hem of his iconic sky blue, striped shirt. He had yet to drop this bad habit of his. His therapist suggests investing in a fidget cube so he won't ruin any future shirts but Evan keeps on forgetting.

Evan had planned this way ahead. It was March and he wanted to try and finally speak out his growing feelings for his family friend (bad habit), er, best friend, Jared.

I mean, how couldn't he? Jared was, well, perfect in Evan's eyes. Who's Jared? You might ask. Well, he's a short and stout boy from Evan's childhood. He had very flat brown hair that looked like it was glued tightly to his head at all times. Sure, it sounded horrible and a bore to the eyes. But Evan had always wanted to run his hand through it teasingly.

Jared was a head shorter than Evan since he had stopped growing since 8th grade so Evan had to look down whenever he had to talk to the boy. He so badly wanted to kneel down and speak with him at the same eye level. It sounded endearing to him.

And Jared's eyes and clothes. They were adorable. Jared had this little thing called sectoral heterochromia so one of his dull sapphire eyes had a splodge of brown in it. His thick-framed, rectangular glasses were the cherry on top of everything. Though his eyes were dulled down from years of hiding his personality from the outside world and replacing it with unemotional snark and insensitive jokes, his glasses made them shine brighter than the sun.

Jared had a thing where he would wear nothing but a shirt underneath a tacky-looking red jacket and khakis. Evan found this habit to be adorable. Everyday, he'd play a little game where he'd guess what shirt would be underneath his iconic red jacket and since he's been friends with Jared for 12 years, he'd often get it right.

Now, back to the confession plan. He wasn't gonna do it right then and there. He had to do some planning. So he marked the 7th of April and started writing down possible confession scripts and started researching the internet for advice.

\---

"Why'd you call me out here, Hansen?" Jared snickered as he walked towards the big oak tree behind the schoolyard. He had yet to drop that wretched excuse for a nickname. Ever since they mended their friendship, Jared had promised Evan that he'd actually call him by his first name. But old habits die hard, I guess. "You gonna confess your undying love to me or something?"

_Yes. Yes he was._

Evan fumbled with the hem of his shirt as he practiced what he would say to Jared in his head. He had planned many extravagant ways to confess to Jared the month before, but he settled on a simple _I like you_ as he pulls out a rose.

"Ja-jared, I like you!" Evan flushed in embarrassment as he pulls out a rose from his pocket and offers it to Jared without looking up. _This is how confessions always go in TV shows, right?_

There was a moment of silence. It was killing Evan slowly. _Say something. Anything. Jared, please._ He honestly didn't care if his best friend rejected him. He just wanted the silence to end.

"Haha. Very funny, Hansen." The other boy deadpanned as he looked closer at the flower. "This gonna spray me with water or something? Didn't see you as someone who'd pull an April Fools joke on anyone else."

"W-what?" Evan looked up and straightened himself. April Fools? Was that today? "You-you think this is a joke?" Evan hesitated for a second and almost considered laughing it off and passing this whole thing as a joke. But he didn't. He was Evan Hansen, what did you expect?

"Yeah, Hansen. It's April 1. Why wouldn't I think this wasn't a joke? Also, a fake coming out and a love confession for an April Fools prank? Not cool, Evan." Jared said warily. "We, gays, don't think it's very funny." He added proudly.

_Wait a minute._

"You're gay?" Evan asked, puzzled. He wasn't expecting Jared to say any of this. He just expected a snarky laugh and a halfhearted rejection. _Maybe you have a chance!_ A voice in his head chimed.

 _Of course not. Just because Jared's gay doesn't mean he likes you, idiot._ A second one dismissed it. Evan winced.

"Um, yeah?" Jared almost faltered in his words but managed to make it sound cocky and confident. "You expect someone as great as me to be straight! Ha! Poor, innocent Hansen."

"A-are you sure that's not offensive to straight people?" Evan said in a hushed tone, fiddling with his fingers, the flower that was previously in his hands had found their way to the ground and Evan made no effort to pick it back up.

"You mean offensive to you?" Jared quirked an eyebrow, stifling a laugh.

"No no no! I'm, I'm bisexual, Jared! I, I, I even confessed to you..." Evan merely mumbled his response. He knew he couldn't convince Jared. Jared's the type of guy to forcefully believe in what he thinks, not even Evan, his best _fucking_ friend, could convince him otherwise.

Then suddenly, he couldn't take it anymore. Evan burst into tears.

From the corner of his blurred eyes, he could see Jared move over to him, Evan waited for a few seconds for some sort of comfort from Jared. But it never came.

He wanted to get out of this. So instead of freezing on spot like he usually did, he ran back into the school building.

He knew he was on the verge of a panic attack, so he ran into the boy's bathroom to avoid any other humans. Luckily, Alana was back from her daily student council meetings in time to see the tall boy run into the room hurriedly. Like the angel that she is, the girl went after her friend.

Evan sat in the bathroom for a few minutes with Alana comforting him and bringing him out of his panic attack. He wiped a few more tears from his face as he had finally calmed down.

_Why did he have to fall for his best friend?_


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We see things from Jared's perspective and his reaction to the whole thing. Jared opens up to Zoe about the situation and they come up with a plan to fix the mess Jared got himself into. But not without some banter with Alana!

_Okay, so Evan asked me to meet him at the back of the school. What the hell? Is this gonna be some April Fools prank? No, Evan's too sweet for that._ Jared wondered as he sit in the back of his chemistry class. Despite his short stature, he often kept on insisting he sit in the back since then he wouldn't need to worry about getting caught sleeping in the middle of class by Ms. Norbury. Today wasn't one of those days though. He couldn't stop thinking about the millions of possibilities on why Evan asked Jared to meet him at the back of the school during lunch time.

_Maybe he wanted to confess to Jared?_

Jared didn't want to entertain that idea. It'd bring his hopes up only to have them crash down by Evan saying sorry that he broke one of his mom's vases or something. Besides, Evan's straight. Right?

Obviously. I mean, have you seen him gush on about Zoe Murphy before the whole 'Connor Project' thing? He'd stutter way more than normal when he actually talked to Zoe though. Which Jared would find cute if it didn't rub the fact that Evan was fucking straight into his face.

He let out a small sigh, doodling on the borders of his blank notebook.

_Why did he have to fall for his best friend?_

\--

"Ja-jared, I like you!" Evan blurted as he held out a rose to Jared.

Jared froze for a minute. _What was this? Evan likes me? Impossible._ Then he realized that Evan wasn't looking up and that he wouldn't say anything unless Jared responded. _Like hell he would believe this._

"Haha. Very funny, Hansen." Jared failed to believe that this was true as he peered down at the flower still held in Evan's hands. "This gonna spray me with water or something? Didn't see you as someone who'd pull an April Fools joke on anyone else." He straightened his back, silently waiting for Evan's response.

\--

"We gays don't think it's very funny." Jared said proudly. _Oh shit. He had just come out to Evan._ He hadn't planned on ever telling Evan about this _ever_. But here he was. Just fully coming out of the closet in front of him.

"You're gay?" _Great._

"Um, yeah?" Jared tried to keep up his snark-filled and cocky attitude but he's pretty sure he almost missed a few words out of piling up anxiety."You expect someone as great as me to be straight! Ha! Poor, innocent Hansen."

"A-are you sure that's not offensive to straight people?" Evan said quietly.

_What did he mean? Wasn't he straight?_

"You mean offensive to you?" Jared tried to laugh it off as he crossed his arms. He didn't want any implications of Evan not being straight. It'd give him false hope. Besides, this was probably another twisted joke Zoe put Evan up to.

"No...no! I'm, I'm bi.....Jare... I, I, I even..confess....you..." Jared could hardly make out what Evan was mumbling about.

Evan's...Evan's bi?? Maybe he really did mean this? Then, out of nowhere, Evan burst into tears. Jared wanted to walk over to him and comfort him. Ask him what's wrong. Tell him everything's okay. Hug him until he was feeling better. Kiss him on the forehead--

Before he could stop himself from thinking of these, Evan past him and disappeared in a blur. Jared felt his knees go weak as he fell down and dirtied his khakis on the Bermuda grass. He was such a bad friend. To make his crush, no, his best friend cry and run away from him.

It reminded him severely of his attitude to Evan before the Connor Project and he hated it. He was such an asshole. He doesn't deserve an amazing friend like Evan. He makes everything calm and happy. Hell, he brought him, Alana and Zoe together and into a bustling friend group from a horrible mishap. Hell, Alana and Zoe were now dating because they got to know each other better! Because of Evan! It was always because of Evan!

Huh, when had he grabbed the rose? When had he started crying? God, he wasn't supposed to show this much vulnerability. He hoped nobody had seen him have this mental breakdown. Now all he had to do was stand up, wipe his tears and act like nothing happened.

He headed to class in his usual cocky and arrogant attitude, except his jokes weren't endearing or a mere tease, they had escalated into major insults that he thought had died down when he promised to not act like an asshole anymore. By the end of the afternoon, everyone's buried hatred for Jared had resurfaced and nobody talked to him anymore.

Since he hadn't turned into a _complete_ asshole, he tried to talk to Evan in trigonometry class. And wow, surprise, surprise, Evan ignored him! Great. How was he going to fix it _this_ time?

Not even Zoe looked at him when he came to visit her beside her locker. "Hey, Murphy kid, are you listening to me?" Jared narrowed his eyes as he looked up at Zoe's cold stern stare.

"Did you make Evan cry?" Jared contemplated if Zoe meant it to be a cold hard fact or a question that she needed to be confirmed.

"How'd you, did he?" Jared couldn't form coherent sentences anymore, he ran his hand through his hair nervously.

"Alana told me. She found him in the boy's bathroom crying over you." Zoe's cold stare had not vanished.

"I, I didn't mean, he, ugh." Jared gave up trying to defend himself. He merely looked at the floor and sulked silently hoping that Zoe would leave and go snog Alana again or something.

Zoe's stare softened as she saw her friend fall silent. She reached her hand for his shoulder."Hey, Jared. I know it sounds _hard_ but-" Zoe bit her lip.

Jared could feel a dick joke threaten to escape his throat but he fought it down. He didn't want this situation to fall deeper into the grave he dug for himself.

"You've got to apologize to him, Jared. He really cares about you, you know." Zoe continued. "And I know you probably made a really bad gay joke because it really shows." Zoe added quietly with a slight cough. "But you've gotta talk to him. I know you don't know how to project your feelings because I've seen you around other people, Jared. You need to let go of your really bad habits and try out healthier ones."

"Zoe, I know, but I just don't believe what he said to me. It sounded so unreal." Jared buried his face in his hands. He's never really opened up to anyone other than Evan so this is a first for him.

"Hmm? What did he say to you?" Zoe looked puzzled as if Alana didn't fill her in on the details.

"What the fuck? Alana didn't tell you?" Jared almost choked at Zoe's ignorance. "Your girlfriend didn't info dump you? Were you too busy making out with her?" Jared chuckled out of habit.

"Shut the fuck up, Kleinman. I'm trying to help you." Zoe shot Jared an unappreciated look as she tightened the grip on his shoulder.

"Okay! Okay! I was kidding. I'll tell you what Evan told me!" Jared practically shouted in the middle of a busy hallway. He really shouldn't test Zoe's patience. She has the same temper Connor had. He suspected it ran in the family since one time during 3rd grade Parents' Day, their dad, Larry argued with the homeroom teacher about such a small thing that it scared 3rd grade Jared.

But thanks to Cynthia's guidance, he guessed Zoe learned to control her temper unlike Connor who just spiraled out of control due to his stubborn attitude and Larry's constant nags at little things Connor did. The thought of their broken family left a shuddering feeling in Jared. But this isn't about Zoe or Connor's family right now.

"In my car." Jared felt his ears go red when some students looked over at their direction.

As soon as they arrived in Jared's beat-up red Toyota, he told Zoe everything. Well, he may have left his mental breakdown out of the conversation. He wasn't ready to open up about _everything_ just yet.

"So he confessed and you didn't believe it? I get the gist of it now." Zoe nodded attentively as she crossed her arms. "I don't think Evan was lying about any of what he said. But I'm not Evan so take whatever I say with a grain of salt. But to be honest? Evan is a sincere person. He's not the type to joke about any of that. Or make any April Fools jokes at all." Zoe finished.

"That's what I thought too when he started the whole Connor ordeal!" Jared blurted out. Oh shit. He shouldn't have said that. Zoe still isn't completely over that incident. Nobody is. Not even Jared 'Emotions? What are those?' Kleinman. Oh wow. When did his eyes start getting blurry?

Zoe's face contorted in shock. "Jar-Jared, I, please don't mention him. I, I, I'm still not over it." Zoe's voice cracked mid-sentence as she looked out into the driveway to avoid Jared's eyes.

"I'm sorry, Zoe. I'm trying my best not to act like the asshole I was before, but its just so difficult to be honest with myself and to others." Jared considered comforting Zoe like he didn't do with Evan. Maybe Zoe won't run away this time? Well, she can't really run to anywhere since they were both in Jared's car.

Since Jared decided to stop being a wimp and actually feel emotions for once, he reached out for Zoe and placed an uneasy hand on her shoulder hoping it would be enough to tell Zoe that he was sorry.

Since Zoe knew that Jared was trying his best, she wiped the forming tears in her eyes and turned back to the short boy. "I'm sorry for getting emotional, Jared. Connor seems to never completely disappear from our minds, can he?" She tried to make the other chuckle.

All that came out of him was a short and muffled giggle.

"So, my advice for you is to apologize to him and then you..."

\--

The next day, Jared prepared this letter that he'd give to Evan since he didn't trust himself to speak out an apology for the fear that he might make things worse. So when he went to school that morning (his beat-up Toyota was awfully quiet without his usual banter with Evan), he slid a small light blue envelope into Evan's locker knowing that the boy would usually grab his botany books for his first period every morning.

And since Jared didn't want to be caught, he quickly shuffled towards Zoe's classroom hoping to find someone to talk to since he'd established to his other seniors yesterday that he decided to be an asshole again.

Luckily, Zoe was there chattering with Alana. _Oh shit, Alana!_ He hasn't said anything to her since the incident yesterday. She's surely gonna kick him in the balls today.

Like the casual and smooth guy he is, he slides over to Zoe's desk and places his hands on the surface. "What's up, ladies? Any of you seeing anyone right now?"

"Jared, you know Zoe and I are dating." Alana deadpanned, seemingly almost forgetting that one of her best friends was found crying his heart out in the boys' bathroom since his crush who was standing right in front of her at the moment seemed to reject him.

"I was just kidding! Sheesh, can't you take a joke, Alana? Maybe that's why you and Murphy girl fit like a glove! None of you can take a joke!" Jared retorted, removing his hand and placing both on his backpack straps.

"Jared? I thought you promised not to act like a dehumanizing asshole anymore." Zoe stared at him with the same cold stare that she provided yesterday.

"Eh, old habits die hard, I guess?" Jared shrugged.

Zoe did not stop staring at him.

"Um, I'm so-rr-ee?" He tried to say as if it was a taboo word that must never be spoken. Man, apologizing is hard. How does Evan pull off saying sorry 50 times a day?

"Well anyways, when are you gonna apologize to Evan?" Alana piped in before the silence grew too strong.

"What? How do you know about that?" Jared asked. Zoe, that jerk! She told Alana?? And he thought she _didn't_ want him to go batshit at anyone anymore. He secretly tried to shoot Zoe a dirty look. Zoe didn't seem to notice.

"I just thought it was expected. After all, you're not a _total_ asshole. I know you'll apologize to Evan eventually." She replied.

Oh thank God. Zoe didn't info dump her girlfriend about yesterday! Now he won't try hacking her Instagram like he was planning to! Jared's previous expression was changed to a happier look but Zoe still didn't seem to notice.

Then Jared realized he had to reply to what Zoe said. "Well, I guess you're right. I don't want my best friend to stop talking to me just because I can't apologize." Jared shrugged.

"Eh, good point. Anyways, as I was saying, Little Women is a good book because it talks about the..." Alana turned back to her girlfriend and started ranting about a book.

Jared realized how out of place he is. He leaves the two girlfriends to their own devices and leaves for his classroom.

He sat in his usual place, the back of the classroom. Then he remembered that he had first period with Evan on Wednesdays.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't made chapter three yet but hopefully it comes out soon! And don't worry, the dumbassery will end in the next chapter.
> 
> Kudos and comments are appreciated but not obligatory!

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed that! This was difficult to write! Which is basically how I feel about anything I write because motivation's like a broken flush on a toilet for me. It works unexpectedly after a long time of inactivity. 
> 
> I will post the second (and hopefully third) chapter soon after this one so stick around for that! Kudos and comments are appreciated but not obligatory! But they do fuel my motivation like a daily fix from a plumber on my broken toilet of a motivation system.


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